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De Kock - We want respect

Neil de Kock admits victory over Munster on Sunday will give Saracens one of their main aims this season - respect in Europe.

By Joe Drabble

Last Updated: 25/04/08 7:34am

Saracens captain Neil de Kock admits victory over Munster in the Heineken Cup semi-final on Sunday will give the club one of their main aims this season - respect in Europe.

Sarries are within 160 minutes of securing their first major trophy for 10 years -with the first obstacle coming at the Ricoh Arena against 2006 European champions Munster, live on Sky Sports 2 on Sunday.

Despite back-to-back Guinness Premiership defeats to Gloucester and Wasps, de Kock believes his team-mates go into the last four showdown brimming with confidence after their quarter-final success over star-studded Welsh outfit the Ospreys.

"We will take quite a bit of confidence out of our game against the Ospreys, that win has given us the belief that we can do what is required," he said.

More consistent

"There could be a million reasons why we went off the boil since beating the Ospreys, but we have to look forward now. We have to give our all to get the result we want.

"When we got together before last season, we decided that we wanted to be more consistent and respected by all in Europe - we wrote it down in a mission statement.

"It is a long-term plan that was agreed by the coaches and players, and this competition has gone a long way towards doing that.

"But we have still fallen short of that consistency we've been looking for.

"We must kick on, and Sunday is the ideal opportunity to do that. There is no bigger stage - for most of our squad, it is our biggest ever game."